I have been playing X-wing for over 2 years and have at least one of every expansion. I have declined to try other FFG Star Wars games because I still have a lot to get out of my X-wing stuff. I did get Fallout and have enjoyed it, but that game is definitely less of a commitment then one with dozens of expansions (though I am hoping for a Nuka-World add-on).

Anyway, this weekend the new local game store had a reopening (they moved to a larger spot) and I figured I would help celebrate by getting a starter set for a new FFG SW game. I spent quite a bit of time staring at the options:

• Armada - I am very interested in it but like x-wing, the out-of-the-box experience is probably pretty limited and they didn't have any expansions for sale.
• IA - I have played a game of Descent so I kind of know the mechanics, and the iPad app sounded really cool. A casual friendly co-op game sounds like a fun diversion from x-wing.
• Legion - I don't want to assemble and paint miniatures... yet...
• Rebellion - I like the non-commitment part as there is only one expansion, but I've heard that it takes a while to get the hang of this game.

I ultimately took IA home (along with a lot of card sleeves), and after spending some time going through the stuff, reading the tutorial mission, and giving the app a try, I gotta admit - I am regretting this decision.

I have played a game of that Mansions of Madness with a tablet device driving, and I remember it being a 'tell the program where you moved, what you attacked, what you rolled, etc" experience. It was a while ago and maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but it seemed like the program WAS the GM. In IA, the tutorial mission(s) spend half the time explaining that what it is doing is not the normal rules but some special hand-waving due to this being the tutorial, which kind of defeats the purpose of a tutorial - this should teach me how to play and not showing me how not to. I then just started the real campaign and dove into the first mission. I found the tiles and built the map like it said using the half of the screen that WASN'T covered by text of what I was supposed to do next. Suggestion: when you want me to build the map, show me the map and get the next step instruction out of the way. When I "continued" my way through to make the text go away so I could see the whole map, I missed the next several instructions. I deployed the 3 probe droids and then... it stopped. It didn't even tell me where to put my figures. It just showed the map and maybe the probe droids. The only real thing I could do was tell it my characters activated or that I defeated one of the enemies. Is that really all this app does? We waited over a year for this?

I was expecting this to be a real GM for this game, as in:

• your character starts here
• which character are you activating?
• where did you move? OH! you cant move that far with that character, try again!
• what are you attacking?
• what were the results?
• ok, I updated the gamestate - this probe droid has this much damage.
• Now the droid attacks you, it rolled this, what was your evade roll?
• ok, you have this much damage

What I got is really no more useful than a pdf file. Were my expectation out of line?

So everything went back into the box and onto a shelf in my closet. I really have no interest in opening it again. If I do, I will probably spend about an hour sorting out the several hundred cards (was that really necessary? - I'm pretty sure this starter kit alone has almost as many cards as my entire X-wing collection!).

I am really wondering what I did wrong. There was a lot of stuff about this game that didn't make sense, like what are the luke and vader expansions good for? They don't even have the big hero cards, so how do you even play them? Or are the expansions for competitive/skirmish mode only? I got this game for the co-op/campaign mode so are those bundled expansions useless? Am I just getting confused by the two different modes of gameplay? Or do I just need more patience?

Ok, you just need to walk before you run You need have an understanding of how the game flows before jumping onto the app. (as it does override a few base mechanics / rules from the main game, also the app has dropped almost 3 years into the games release, so it does not in anyway show you how to play the game, it relies on the players already knowing how to play IA). I suggest you start with the Learn to play booklets etc from the box, that gets you familiar with the game mechanics, and timing of activations etc.

https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/84/fc/84fcff54-eafe-45ec-acf4-538a86e1acfc/imperial_assault_learn_to_play_guide.pdf

Maybe run through the base game tutorial (from box, NOT app) its not the best (and doesn't need to be "completed"), but just helps you get a feel for the games flow. Get to grips with learning the game proper, THEN jump onto the app. As the app does not teach you these things. (P.s. here is the rule book for app, which tells you how to apply the app GM's movement and attack list priorities, but again, read after the core books https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/12/bd/12bd1a50-5ff6-4a04-b527-69b2ad85a257/lota_rulebook_forweb.pdf ).

Once on the app, take it slowly, as it will indeed tell you where to place heroes etc, but it is very easy to skip when hammering the button to continue.

Re: Luke and Vader. You cannot play these guys as "Heroes" they are more a supporting cast mechanic, i.e. you can earn Luke as an ally to use as support to your Heroes, (or he may be written into a certain mission for you to use etc). Vader will always be an enemy unit in campaign, for example he will turn up in the core box campaign in certain missions (and likely the app, the app will choose randomly a unit to appears as a "big bad" at times).

But yes, overall I would learn the base game from manuals included in the physical box, maybe solo the box tutorial, get a feel for it, then jump onto the app. I've been playing campaign for a couple of years and even I got thrown off here and there by the app, so defo learn the basic game first, before turning on the electronic overlord

Stick with it, its a great game (and hopefully more solo / app content will be coming)

The two different tutorials in the app try to show you the basics. The "beginner" tutorial is more thorough, the "played IA already" tutorial mainly the app-specific stuff. You still need to read through at least the Learn to Play and the App's rulebook, and skim the Rules Reference Guide to know when to check things from it.

You can't jump into the Mansions of Madness app either without reading its rules. It does not track where players and monsters are, it's pretty close to the Legends of the Alliance app in that respect.

Also, you may want to unlearn Descent while learning Imperial Assault. The small differences between may make a huge difference in the end result.

Legends of the Alliance app is not intended to replace the campaign and skirmish modes. It allows a third way to play Imperial Assault. It does not simulate or emulate a GM, the class deck and agenda cards you would use in the regular campaign are replaced by unit bonuses and other effects.

@sirjorj , the app does tell you where to place the figures and where the heroes should start. I believe you may have missed it when you skipped all those instructions in effort to see the map. When setting up the map it's helpful to pinch/zoom and drag/pan the map around to see the parts you need.

One major concept to note is that the app is not a computer game that can be played on its own. It's not designed to keep record of things like current position or health status. Everything is still managed like you normally would while playing the board game. The app does provide IA instructions for Imperial activations but everything is still managed and recorded using the board game components like chits, tokens, cards and miniatures. It would be double the work to have to record the game status both on the board and in the app and would significantly reduces game flow. The app doesn't ask many questions nor does it need to.

What the app does is tell you what, when and where enemies spawn and provides a list of instructions for its actions. It keeps certain objectives and portions of the map hidden until the game progresses, encouraging a sense of exploration. For me, this is the best part of the app. In the past, I would play the regular 5 player Campaign mode solo, but knowing all the secrets of what lied ahead took a lot away from the experience. As you said, it was like playing with a PDF file (namely the Campaign guide).

No offense, but your last paragraph of statements/questions leads me to believe you really didn't read much of the instruction manuals and user guides that come in the box. All the things that "don't make sense" are explained in those manuals. The tutorial does promise to teach new players how to play Legends of the Alliance but it specifically states that it " only provides a broad overview of the rules " and that certain terms " refer to specific entries in the Imperial Assault Rules Reference Guide included in your core set, where you can fine more information on those topics. " Questions like those referring to the included Luke and Vader expansions are answered in the ALLIES section of the Learn to Play Guide. As @54NCH32 said, I suggest you read the guides that come in the box and perhaps even run through the tutorial presented in the Learn to Play Guide. I encourage you to bring it back out of your closet and really learn to play it. If you like Star Wars and RPG style board games like Descent, I know you will really like Imperial Assault. The Legends of the Alliance app does a really great job at providing a solo and coop experience.

Thanks for the replies.

15 hours ago, 54NCH32 said:

But yes, overall I would learn the base game from manuals included in the physical box, maybe solo the box tutorial, get a feel for it, then jump onto the app.

I think this is the main point of your post. I will focus on the game itself before playing with the app.

14 hours ago, a1bert said:

Legends of the Alliance app is not intended to replace the campaign and skirmish modes. It allows a third way to play Imperial Assault. It does not simulate or emulate a GM, the class deck and agenda cards you would use in the regular campaign are replaced by unit bonuses and other effects.

I think this is a lot of my misunderstanding. i thought the app was basically a digital rehash of the game and would eliminate the need for someone to play the Imperial side. I didn't realize it was new content with a new mode of play.

2 hours ago, dwaynedauzat said:

One major concept to note is that the app is not a computer game that can be played on its own. It's not designed to keep record of things like current position or health status. Everything is still managed like you normally would while playing the board game. The app does provide IA instructions for Imperial activations but everything is still managed and recorded using the board game components like chits, tokens, cards and miniatures. It would be double the work to have to record the game status both on the board and in the app and would significantly reduces game flow. The app doesn't ask many questions nor does it need to.

I was starting to suspect this. I suppose if the app was just a digital version of the game, there wouldn't be much need to buy the game!

Quote

No offense, but your last paragraph of statements/questions leads me to believe you really didn't read much of the instruction manuals and user guides that come in the box. All the things that "don't make sense" are explained in those manuals. The tutorial does promise to teach new players how to play Legends of the Alliance but it specifically states that it " only provides a broad overview of the rules " and that certain terms " refer to specific entries in the Imperial Assault Rules Reference Guide included in your core set, where you can fine more information on those topics. " Questions like those referring to the included Luke and Vader expansions are answered in the ALLIES section of the Learn to Play Guide. As @54NCH32 said, I suggest you read the guides that come in the box and perhaps even run through the tutorial presented in the Learn to Play Guide. I encourage you to bring it back out of your closet and really learn to play it. If you like Star Wars and RPG style board games like Descent, I know you will really like Imperial Assault. The Legends of the Alliance app does a really great job at providing a solo and coop experience.

I cannot take offense to a true statement! :) I read through the actual mission part but didn't read all of the more advanced things. I should have kept going.

Thanks again to all of you. Getting into a game like this can be kind of daunting, especially when there are 3 different ways to play it! I will give it another shot.

7 hours ago, sirjorj said:

I think this is the main point of your post. I will focus on the game itself before playing with the app.

Ha! yes it was, although I seem to say it a few times in varying ways (I guess that's what happens when I post while under-caffeinated ? ), But yeah stick with it.